There are many different types and kinds of order confirmation systems that help facilitate customer throughput. In this regard, such prior known systems include both audio and visual systems that help facilitate the processing of customer orders.
For example, in a typical large modern super market, a customer brings his or her order to a check out stand for processing by an order checker. The order checker causes each item selected by the customer to be scanned by a bar-code reader coupled to a point of sales terminal. As each item is scanned, the point of sales terminal displays on a display device a brief description of the item and its price for confirmation by the customer. In this regard, if the customer believes the displayed price is inaccurate a price check can be immediately requested to verify the correctness of the displayed item and price.
At the conclusion of the order processing, the checker verbally confirms with the customer that the order is complete. If the order is completed, the checker causes the point of sales terminal to display the total price of the customer order for verification and payment by the customer. Thus, the displaying of the price of individual ones of the items in combination with the use of a high speed bar code reader helps facilitate both accuracy and customer throughput.
Another example of a order confirmation system is found in today's fast-food restaurants. In this environment, the customer views a menu board which displays the names and prices of the various available food items. The customer then selects the items desired and verbally informs an order-taker of his or her selections. As each item is announced by the customer, the order taker depresses a keypad on a food item keypad selection device coupled to a point of sale terminal, which in turn, causes the name of the item and its associate price to be displayed on a display bar for verification by the customer. If the customer has placed his or her order from a drive-up station, the order taker must repeat each item ordered over a full-duplex communication system for customer verification purposes.
When the customer has completed his or her order, the order taker depresses a total sales button on the food item keypad device, which in turn, causes the total price of the order to be displayed for verification and payment by the customer. Again, if the customer is at a drive-up station, the order taker must announce the total price to the customer for verification purposes. Thus, like the point of sales terminal in a super market, the displaying of the name of the individual items and their associated prices at the point of sales terminal in a fast food restaurant also helps facilitate customer verification of order accuracy and price to improve customer throughput.
Although prior known point of sales systems have improved customer throughput, they have not proven entirely satisfactory. In this regard, once an item has been displayed for customer verification, the displayed item is removed and immediately replaced from the display unit as soon as another item is scanned or entered by an order taker. Thus, the customer must constantly direct his or her attention to the display unit at all times or suffer losing the window of opportunity for item and price verification.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved order confirmation system that enables a customer to verify the accuracy of each item ordered at all items while the order is being placed and until the entire order has been approved.
Another problem with prior known systems has been the loss of time associated with correcting a customer's order during the order taking process. For example, in a fast food restaurant environment, a customer may not have a sufficient amount of money to pay for the food items ordered or may not have heard the order taker when he or she repeats the item ordered for customer verification purposes. Thus, at the end of the order taking process, the customer may need to cancel one or more items, if the item requested was not properly ordered or if the total price of the order exceeds the funds available to the customer.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved order confirmation system that enables a customer to verify not only the individual item and prices of the items ordered, but also the total accumulated charges incurred during the ordering process.
Thus, while such prior known systems may have helped to improve order accuracy and customer throughput, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved method and order confirmation system that provides a customer with a visual verification of his or her entire order and that also eliminates the need for an order taker to repeat and verify the order placed by the customer.
Such a new and improved order confirmation system should also be adapted for use with both point-of-sale terminals and audio order stations to facilitate customer throughput regardless of whether the order is placed at an order point within a business establishment, such as at a check out station at a super market, or outside a business establishment, such as at a drive through order station at a fast food restaurant.